Bound by Fate
by Carreercrim331
Summary: A series of One-shots revolving around my three Dragonborn. Rating subject to change.


_Kaiden._

That was the name they had given him, the boy laying on his bed. He was of the typical height for a nine year old Imperial, but much of his body was not typical in the slightest.

His hair was a dark red, uncommon among Imperials. His face was already adorned with a scar that traveled down from his brow, through is right eye, onto his cheek. The rest of his body displayed bruises and small scars from what appeared to be countless strikes, adding an uneven texture to the muscles that could be seen when he flexed.

Kaiden didn't remember how he came here, he had been here as long as he could remember. With these men, in the stone temple on the mountain.

They gave him a home, a place to rest. They gave him food to eat. They gave him clothes to wear.

They trained him to survive.

Every morning, one of them, a Redguard, would wake him, placing a set of fresh clothes at the foot of his bed before leaving to wait in the hall. After dressing, Kaiden would follow the man to another room where he would be given some food before his training began. After eating, he would dawn a set of specially made armour before traveling to his weapon rack. He was fond of the battle-axe, but excelled with sword and shield.

For a normal child, lifting such weapons would have been impossible, but Kaiden was far stronger than a normal child, his past training had seen to that. Choosing his sword and shield he stepped onto an upraised platform in the corner of the room.

Another figure stepped onto the platform, dressed in fine steel armour, his green skin revealing him to be an Orc. Kaiden knew him well, but not by name. He was Kaiden's teacher. The Orc used many weapons, rarely the same one twice in a row. This time he hefted a greatsword from his shoulder, gripping it in an offensive stance before, at some unspoken signal, he sprinted towards Kaiden.

Kaiden waited, keeping still until the Orc was close enough before spinning to the right, bringing his shield around to bash against the Orc's back. His opponent stumbled forward before correcting himself, spinning to slash at Kaiden with the full length of his blade.

Kaiden was caught in the side, the force of the swing knocking him to the ground and leaving a rather uncomfortable dent in his armour. Instead of staying down, Kaiden rolled to his feet and prepared himself for the next move.

The Orc brought his greatsword straight down at Kaiden, forcing the smaller Imperial to jump to the side before delivering a slash to the Orc's knee. The Orc grunted in pain before he collapsed, his knee now unable to hold his weight. His greatsword slid off of the platform and landed on the ground below.

Kaiden held the point of his sword to the Orcs throat, his gaze hard as rock.

"I yield." Said the Orc. As soon as to words were said, Kaiden sheathed his blade and hopped off of the platform.

Now began the next part of his training. Equipment maintenance.

Kaiden took his armour to the workshop in one of the back rooms of the temple. Most of his gear was undamaged, but his cuirass needed to be fixed from the Orc's attack.

Taking the damaged piece of armour off, Kaiden placed it on a workbench and began his task, hammering the dented metal back into its original shape. It was hard work, taking the better portion of an hour. When he had completed the task, he presented the cuirass to the Redguard, who had been waiting patiently at the door. Taking the armour from the Imperial, he ran his hand across where the dent had been, looking for the slightest deformity, but found none. Kaiden had learned quickly that he had to have the task completed to the best of his ability if he wanted to avoid having to redo it half a dozen times. Nodding, the Redguard handed the armour back and left.

Kaiden returned his armour and weapon to their racks. He then turned to another rack on the wall and picked up his bow. The Imperial took the bow out onto the balcony of the temple, where there were already quivers of arrows waiting for him. Taking one, he took carful aim at the target. His powerful arms pulled the bowstring back with ease, but as he released, a powerful gust of wind pushed the arrow off target, causing it to fly over the edge and fall from view.

Kaiden swore under his breath as his arm instinctively reached for another arrow. This time, he adjusted his aim to compensate for the wind and, when he released, the arrow was pushed straight into the target, about five inches away from the center.

Smiling slightly, Kaiden repeated the technique. This time, however, the wind was much weaker, the arrow only carried slightly closer to the target, catching the edge. Kaiden swore again as he pulled out another arrow. He still had some difficulty reading the wind when firing arrows, but it was a skill he was told he needed to master. He drew the string back and, trying to predict the winds movements, fired again, this one impacting closer to the center then the first. Smiling, Kaiden fired until his quiver was empty, signaling the end of his archery practice for the day. Pulling the arrows out of the target, Kaiden returned them to his quiver and set it on the table before returning his bow to its rack.

By this time it was mid-afternoon, and Kaiden had only one lesson left for the day, the one he hated most. He traveled down the steps into one of the basements of the temple. Holding out a palm, he cast the one Alteration spell he knew, Candlelight. The orb of light hovered around his head as he walked down the dark corridor. The walls were replaced at regular intervals with metal bars. Inside these cells, Kaiden could see the Draugr that the men had brought here. They strained against their chains, trying to get at him, but the strong metal didn't even twist.

Kaiden didn't know why the Draugr were kept here, or why they were there at all, but he knew he did not enjoy the last lesson of the day.

At the end of the corridor, Kaiden opened a door into a brightly lit room. On a table in the center, there was a knife and standing in the corner, was the one man Kaiden feared the most.

He was an Altmer, very tall and very intimidating. Kaiden tried not to look at him as he took his seat in the chair, taking the knife from in front of him.

Holding the knife to his arm, Kaiden took a shaky breath before he drew the knife across his flesh, deep enough to draw blood. Kaiden hated having to do this, but he knew that if he didn't, the High Elf would, and he made it hurt much more. He struggled, but was able to keep from crying out in pain.

Once the Imperial had made a cut across his whole arm, he put down the knife and, taking a deep breath, held his hand over the wound. Closing his eyes, Kaiden concentrated hard, feeling a slight tug in his stomach.

An orb of golden light flashed in his palm, radiating across the wound. Kaiden could feel a warm feeling enter his arm as the wound closed on its own, leaving no trace that it had even existed. Letting out another breath, Kaiden repeated the process until his magicka was depleted completely, the High Elf never moved, but took notice. The previous month, Kaiden had only been able to heal himself three times before his magicka ran out. Today, he was able to accomplish the task seven times before he had to stop.

Rubbing his now sore arm, Kaiden left the room.

Kaiden threw himself onto his bed. His lessons and training for the day were complete and he now had the rest of the day to himself. He sighed as he turned to the books on the wall. There really wasn't anything else to do with his time, so he grabbed the one he had been reading the previous day and was about to continue reading when the Redguard opened the door. Kaiden was surprised, having never been interrupted in his reading before. The men who trained him rarely spoke and didn't seem interested in him besides training. He didn't even know their names, but he obeyed them without question when they told him to train.

The Redguard gestured for Kaiden to follow, so, putting down his book, Kaiden rose to his feet and followed the man out of his room and into the main hall.

For the first time, there was someone in the temple Kaiden didn't recognize.

It was a boy, a Dark Elf. His skin was typically ash coloured, and his eyes were a dark red, normal for his race. He appeared to be slightly younger then Kaiden, maybe seven or eight years old at most.

The men left the pair in the hall without a word. The dark elf approached Kaiden before speaking quietly and with a slight stutter.

"H-Hello."

Kaiden had gotten over his surprise at this point and decided to at least attempt to be friendly. "Hello. What's your name?"

The dark elf boy's gaze dropped shyly. "The hooded men gave me a name. They called me Cygnis."

Kaiden smiled at him. "I'm Kaiden." The Imperial thought for a moment. "Do you know why you're here?"

Cygnis shook his head. "I don't know. They told me I would be living here now. They said I was special." The dark elf's gaze didn't leave the floor for an instant.

Kaiden hesitantly put his hand on the boy's shoulder. "It's alright. I've been here as long as I can remember and once you get used to it, it's not so bad." He spoke in hopes cheering the younger boy up.

It seemed to work. Cygnis raised his head to look Kaiden in the eye. "Thank you."

Kaiden smiled. "Alright, it's pretty late, we should get some sleep."

Cygnis nodded. "Alright."

The two boys headed back to sleeping quarters in the temple, where the Redguard was waiting. He pointed Cygnis into the room across the hall from Kaiden's room.

Cygnis turned to Kaiden before entering the room. Kaiden gave him a reassuring smile. "It's alright, Cygnis, I'll see you in the morning."

Cygnis nodded. He entered the room and closed the door behind him.

Kaiden entered his room and closed the door before throwing himself until his bed. He looked up at the ceiling smiling.

He had a friend.

The next day began as all the others did, the Redguard waking him up, combat training all morning, until he entered the dark corridor to reach his final class.

Cygnis was in the corridor, facing one of the cells with one of the hooded men watching him. Kaiden halted as he watched Cygnis build up a ball of golden light in his hand. It was similar to how Kaiden's hand glowed when he healed himself, only instead of holding the ball close to a wound, Cygnis fired the ball from his palm, striking the Druagr, causing it to glow in a similar way.

The undead stopped straining at it's chains for a moment, before it resumed moving, this time press against the back of the cell, as if to get as far away from Cygnis as it could.

Kaiden was astonished by this, but the man had noticed him and pointed towards the room at the end of the hall.

Sighing, Kaiden went to his training, leaving Cygnis and the man behind him.

Weeks passed and Kaiden and Cygnis grew close. Kaiden learned that the men were training Cygnis, but in a different way. While Kaiden learned to wield a sword, Cygnis was being taught the schools of magic. In a few short days, Cygnis had been able to master the Novice level Destruction and Conjuration spells. When the pair were discussing their lessons during the breaks at the end of the day, Cygnis mentioned the difficulties he was having with Alteration and Illusion, but a few reassurances from Kaiden that he would be able to succeed were more than enough to get Cygnis to redouble his efforts and soon mastered the spells that the men wanted of him.

As Kaiden retired to his room for the day, he smiled. He hadn't just gained a friend, he had gained a brother.

Several years passed

Kaiden let out breath as he put down his hammer and picked up his creation. He had recently began training in the art of Orcish smithing. It was much more difficult than the traditional steel smithing he had been doing before, as well as the Dwarvern smithing he had been taught last year. Orichalcum was much harder to shape into the correct form, requiring an iron mold to be used and attached to the inside of the new armour.

Kaiden had worked for several hours, but he smiled as he looked at the helmet he made before pulling on the cloth hood and placing the helmet on top. He smiled. He had made it the correct size.

"So you're going Orcish, now, brother?" came a familiar voice. The thirteen year old Imperial turned with a smile, seeing his younger brother. The eleven year old Dark Elf stepped forward, a grin on his face as Kaiden slipped off the helmet. "Just finished the helmet? Ussualy you would have got the cuirass and one of the gauntlets done by now."

Kaiden rolled his eyes, but his grin never faded. "Well, Cyg, Orcish smithing is much harder than Dwarvern. I had to restart on the helmet several times before I got it right."

Cygnis nodded. "Reminds me of the new Conjuration magic I was taught." As he spoke, a dark blue orb formed in his hand.

"Careful Cyg! Your only supposed to do that on the balcony, remember?" Kaiden quickly reminded him.

As the orb faded from Cygnis's hand, one of the men approached the pair. Immediate, Cygnis's attitude changed. His body tightened up and stepped closer to his brother. Kaiden wasn't surprised. While Cygnis was happy to be around his brother, he was still frightened of the men. He had told Kaiden about the magic he had seen them do and was not in a hurry to anger them.

Kaiden looked the man in the eye, unafraid. He knew the Redguard well enough to know he wasn't going to discipline them. He wouldn't be alone for that.

"What is going on here?" The Redguard asked.

"Nothing sir. Cygnis just stopped by after finishing his lessons." Kaiden spoke truthfully.

The Redguard nodded. "Good. We are going into town to acquire an important resource."

Kaiden was not surprised. The Redguard had left many times in the years he had been at the temple, but then, he noticed one word the Redguard had said, and it made him pause for a moment before he spoke.

"We?"

The Redguard nodded. "Yes. Both of you will join me. Be ready to leave in an hour." Without another word, the Redguard left them.

The brothers looked at each other, both confused.

The pair grabbed their packs and headed for the front gate. It was usually closed tightly, but now a carriage was waiting for them, pulled by two strong, black horses. The Redguard was waiting when they arrived. He looked the pair over, taking note that Kaiden had decided to bring his sword and that Cygnis wore a set of enchanted rings and an amulet that the dark elf had made himself. Nodding, he gestured for them to enter the carriage.

After they had entered the carriage, the Redguard climbed into the front of and took the reins. In moments they were on their way down the side of the mountain.

Kaiden and Cygnis watched their surroundings with wonder. They had seen it from the temple, but to see it up close was something new entirely. After roughly an hour of traveling, they came to the village that they had been heading towards. From the Maps they had been shown in the temple, they came to the conclusion that this place was Shor's Stone. The carriage halted not far from the village square. The Redguard exited the carriage and gestured for the boys to follow him. They came to the center of town, where another man was waiting.

He was a Nord, with braided blond hair and strong arms. And standing beside him, was a young girl. The Redguard approached them and, after exchanging a few words with the Nord, took the girls hand and led her towards the boys.

Kaiden realized now that the 'resource' they had come to collect wasn't an object. It was a person.

The Redguard helped the girl into the carriage and turned to the boys before handing them a pouch of gold and speaking. "Both of you. Go to the blacksmith and purchase all the iron ingots he has."

Startled, the boys hurried off. They were awkward as they spoke with the blacksmith, being unused to talking to many people, but acquired the ingots with little difficulty.

Taking the ingots in one of their packs, they returned to the carriage to find the Redguard waiting for them. Without a word, they climbed into the carriage, finding the girl still there.

She was a Breton, about nine years old. Her brown hair was cut into a series of short braids going down the sides of her head. When she looked up at them, they saw her eyes were oddly colored, one blue, the other a dark red. The girl curled up in the corner of the carriage, hugging her knees and looking frightened.

The boys spoke to her calmly on the ride up the mountain and eventually, she sat up and gave a hopeful smile. When the carriage stopped, Kaiden helped her out of the carriage and onto the stone steps of her new home. The hooded men were waiting for them.

The Redguard took her hand and attempted to lead her away, but she resisted and turned to look the brothers, who smiled and told her it would be alright and to go with them.

Relaxing, the Breton let herself be led away into the temple.

Later, Kaiden and Cygnis were in the main hall when the girl was led in and sat down with them. She now wore the same clothes as the boys, only smaller to fit her small build.

Kaiden smiled. "So, did they name you?"

The Breton smiled. "I'm Levi! What are your names?"

The brothers introduced themselves before Cygnis's expression changed. "Do you know why you're here, Levi?"

The Breton's smile faded. "No, I don't. I was sent to that village with a Nord. He was supposed to protect me. I don't remember anything before that."

Kaiden put his hand on her shoulder. "It's alright Levi. Your one of us now."

Levi raised her head, looking confused. "One of you?"

Cygnis smiled. "Yes. We don't have much of a family here, so we made one. You're our sister now."

Levi looked up at her new family, tears forming in her eyes. "Thank you." Her voice was quiet.

The next day was normal until the end. Kaiden and Cygnis were in the main hall sitting on their usual table, just talking about their training.

"So, know that I can conjure a Flame Atronach, they want me to work on a Frost Atronach as well. I like Conjuration, but is a little break too much to ask?" Cygnis said as he opened a book.

Kaiden was about to speak when a familiar voice cut him off.

"Hey, guys! What are you doing?" Levi spoke.

Kaiden almost fell of his chair. Levi was sitting in a chair right next to Cygnis, but neither of them had heard or seen her approach.

Cygnis was surprised, but recovered quickly. "Levi, how did you get here?!"

The little girl smiled. "I snuck here. The men want me to practice whenever I can, so I did right here!"

Kaiden turned to Cygnis and shrugged. "Alright, if that's what they taught you. We should all get to bed now, its pretty late."

The three siblings entered the sleeping quarters and quickly fell asleep.

One Decade Later

Kaiden raised his shield, catching the Orc's axe and forcing it away before delivering a powerful slash with his sword. The Orc spun away, receiving only a glancing blow. Jumping to the side, Kaiden caught the Orc's axe with his sword and, twisting his blade, forced the Orc to drop his weapon. Kaiden used his foot to send the weapon spinning off of the platform. Now weaponless, the Orc raised his hands, signaling a yield.

Sheathing his sword, Kaiden hopped off the platform and returned his weapons to their usual rack. He was about to grab his bow when a hand landed on his shoulder.

"You're pretty tired brother. How about a drink?" Levi said. Kaiden hadn't seen her approach, but wasn't surprised at that. Levi seemed to only be seen when she wanted to be. She was holding out a green potion, which he accepted.

Taking a gulp, he was surprised by the effect it had. Instantly, he felt energy flowing back into this limbs.

His face must have shown his surprise, cause Levi grinned. She wasn't the little girl Kaiden had met before. She had grown into a beautiful woman. Her hair was no longer braided and she wore it down to her neck. Her eyes were the only thing that hadn't changed about her. They still had the odd coloring. When she spoke, it sounded like an adult was talking. "Surprised? I finally worked out the recipe for a restore stamina potion."

Kaiden smiled at his sister. "Thanks Levi. See you on the balcony. We are settling who the better shot is today!"

Levi's grin didn't fade. "Looking forward to it." Then she was gone.

Grabbing his bow, he followed the only door onto the balcony. Levi was already there, as was Cygnis. He was channeling magic into his hand before firing a blue-hot fireball into the mountainside. As his magic had grown stronger, it was just too dangerous for him to practice inside anymore.

The dark elf turned and smiled at his siblings. "So you two are competing again? Need a judge?"

Levi's grin grew into a full smile. "Of course Cyg.

Kaiden turned to the targets and grabbed a quiver. Drawing the string back, he took aim before releasing, hitting the target slightly off center. He turned to Levi smiling.

Levi met her brother's smile with her own as she lifted her crossbow, firing the bolt into the target. She didn't have the upper body strength to use a normal bow, so the hooded men had given her the crossbow and instructed her in its use.

The bolt impacted the target, slightly farther away than Kaiden's but the contest wasn't over. By the time they decided to call it a draw, the targets were so covered in projectiles that they resembled large hedgehogs.

The three siblings left the balcony and returned to the sleeping quarters. After a quick good night, they were in their beds and already asleep.

Kaiden was suddenly awoken by a loud banging as something smashed against his door. Jumping up, the young man pulled on his clothes and flung the door open. The Redguard was on the other side, a Scimitar in his hand.

"Wake you siblings and get ready to leave. Meet me in the main hall in ten minutes." That was all the Redguard said before running off.

Kaiden was about to knock on Cygnis's door when there was an incredibly loud noise, like stone being raked away as the temple shook.

Levi's door flew open and she stumbled out. She was also dressed and looked at her older brother in confusion. "What's happening?!"

Kaiden shook his head. "I don't know! Go the main hall! I'll be right there!"

Nodding, Levi ran off. Kaiden threw Cygnis's door open to find the Dark Elf dressed and heading towards the door, his red eyes filled with confusion.

Grabbing him, Kaiden ran to the main hall, where they found Levi being dressed in armour by the Redguard. Unlike her training armour, this was real armour. Hard glass, able to withstand punishment. The Redguard noticed them and pointed to the table, where another set of armour lay. This one was jet black, with a matching shield. Next to it was a set of light robes and even from the short distance away, Kaiden could feel the magic radiating from it.

The brothers quickly dressed themselves and, following the Redguards instructions, were about to grab some weapons when the temple shook again. This time it was much stronger, like something massive smashing against the walls, attempting to gain entrance.

Grabbing his sword and battle axe, Kaiden slung the axe over his shoulder and clipped the sword to his belt. He then grabbed his bow and a quiver full of arrows.

Turning to his siblings, Kaiden saw them already in their gear. Cygnis now had a small dagger hanging from his belt as he raised his head to look at the shaking ceiling.

Levi had her crossbow slung over her shoulder and a large container of bolts attached to her hip, along with her usual dagger.

The Redguard turned to them. He was about to speak when the four of them heard sounds from above. The sound of metal smashing against something very hard, as the screams of men as something pierced their flesh.

The Redguard pointed to the door. "Go! Get to the carriage, now!" The three siblings were too surprised to do anything but obey.

They were in the courtyard and were climbing into the carriage when they saw it.

It was huge, with black scales covered in spines. It's red eyes glowed as it leaped into the courtyard, eyes fixed on the three siblings. It's wings were folded as it drew closer, snarling.

The Redguard was the only one who wasn't in the carriage. He had turned and held his Scimitar at the beast, ready to strike.

Kaiden was about to leap out of the carriage to help when the Redguard shouted a command to the horses, spurring them into action. They took off at a run.

Kaiden, Cygnis and Levi could only watch as the closest thing they had ever had to a father was consumed in a ball of fire, his cries of pain audible from where they were.


End file.
